Clannad After Story: Tomoyo
by Cloud802
Summary: Perhaps fighting isn't so bad, as long as it's for something important to you. Tomoya/Tomoyo *THIS IS NOT TOMOYO AFTER*
1. Chapter 1

Cloud: It's important to note that this is not a novelisation of Tomoyo After, I've never played the game and I probably never will, these are my own events.

The After Stories are a project I will be working on along with The Original of Haruhi Suzumiya. They will cover what happens after each route of the game. If you haven't played the game or at least seen the OVAs then I suggest not reading them, as they will be extremely spoiler heavy on the other girls' routes. They'll probably only be a few chapters each, but I hope that they are enjoyable.

Clannad After Story: Tomoyo

**Part 1**

She was lying there, still as a stone. I couldn't process what was in front of me. The only thing I saw was a man turning the corner of the alley way, calm as can be, hands in his pockets like nothing had happened. I knelt down at her side and cradled her head in my lap. After a quick pat down I found and removed the cell phone from her uniform.

My hands moved on their own, dialing the emergency number.

1

_Please be okay._

1

_Please._

9

I heard the woman on the other end of the line, but I couldn't fathom what she was actually saying to me. I gave her the address of the street we were on and hit the end button on the cell phone.

I looked up at the ominous building in front of me.

_**Hikarizaka Engineering School**_

"Tomoyo... what were you thinking?" I asked softly.

**-4 Months ago-**

Tomoyo sighed and leaned back, stretching and cracking her spine. She eyed the book in front of her with a slight apprehension. I smirked, "That attitude won't get you into College. You're lucky there's one close by, though it's not exactly the best you could have gone to."

"Enough of that," she said with a pout. I poured her a cup of steaming tea and set it on the small wooden table in front of her.

We lived in a small apartment that was cheap but clean. It housed one bedroom and a kitchen, it was enough for us for the time being. "It'll stop snowing soon," I said casually,pouring myself a cup of tea as well, "Do you need summer uniforms?"

"No," she said, shaking her head softly, "I have quite a few of them that still fit, I went and got them earlier this week."

"You know, you're probably the best thing that's happened to that school in a long time. If someone told me a couple of years ago that I would end up dating the student council president I would have laughed."

She smiled softly, "Even though your attendance fell back I'm glad you graduated. It'd be nice if we could get the stink of oil out of your work clothes easier."

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

"I don't know, is it?" she asked, smiling. "Dinner is on the counter if you're hungry, you've been working over time a lot lately."

"Supporting two people is a lot harder than it looks," I said, scratching the back of my head, "But it doesn't feel bad at all."

"So I'm a burden then?"

"Maybe," I said, "But I'd rather have a burden than live alone."

"I'm glad then."

-------

_"Tomoya-kun."_

_Don't call me that._

_"Tomoya-kun."_

_I woke up slowly at first, my arm was laid out over my eyes. I let out a light yawn and looked around the small living room. I had fallen asleep watching TV again. It was only to be expected. I gritted my teeth and grasped my right shoulder in pain. It still hurt like hell, and I doubted it would subside any time soon. The doctor told me I wouldn't be able to lift my shoulder anymore. _

_I wouldn't be able to shoot._

_I stood up and walked to the door, stepping over the drunken mound on the floor that was responsible for this. I left without a word, my feet carrying me up the hill towards the school. It was dark by the time I made it to the front gates, and there was obviously no one here. I climbed over the metal gate and made my way towards the east building, where there was a broken window I could easliy slip through._

_It felt like my feet were moving in slow motion._

_I didn't realize where I was going until I got there._

_The double doors to the gym were in front of me._

_I reached out and grasped the handle, pushing it down._

_It was unlocked._

_The bleachers on the east side of the court is where my feet took me. I peeked underneath and sure enough, there was a single basketball, tucked in the bottom. I always did this, whenever I felt like unwinding I would come to the school when no one was there, and I would play by myself. I would imagine my opponent, trying to stop me from making a basket._

_My hands reached out and grabbed the basketball of their own accord._

_I walked the the free throw line._

_And I switched my primary hand._

_I jumped and took the shot with my left hand instead, my right shoulder staying low enough to where I didn't make a full shot._

_It was no good._

_The ball was off by more than a small margin, it didn't even hit the back board._

_I'm sure if I practiced I would become proficient in shooting with my left hand, but what would be the point? We only had a few games left, and ever since I was injured I just didn't feel like going back to it next year._

_I stood there for what seemed like forever, staring up at the hoop._

_Finally, my feet carried me back to the house._

_I once again stepped over the drunken man and made my way up to my room. I laid down on my bed and went to sleep._

_I didn't set my alarm for six._

_No, I would be sleeping in._

-----------

"Tomoya."

"Mmrph..."

"Tomoya, wake up."

My eyes snapped open, and I was greeted by a curtain of silver hair and a lovely face. "You get some sort of sick pleasure from waking me up in the mornings don't you?"

She smiled, and I suddenly didn't feel like complaining much, "Breakfast is ready, or we could just lay here with me on top of you until it's time for you to go to work."

I frowned, "I'm hungry," I said cruelly, putting two hands on her side and gently pushing her off me. She looked disappointed for a moment as I made my way out of the room. Then a smirked and turned on her as she followed me out, planting a kiss on her lips. As I turned back around I caught sight of a light blush on her face. I stretched before I went to my knees in front of our small table. "I could get used to this," I said with a yawn.

Her plate was next to mine, as she didn't care much for eating across from me. When she sat down we both grabbed our chopsticks. I grinned at her, "Itadakimasu," we both said at the same time.

When we finished eating she leaned on my shoulder and closed her eyes. This had been happening every morning for the past month. "You know," I said with a smirk, "This isn't exactly a normal morning routine."

"And what would normal be?" she asked softly, nuzzling into my shoulder.

I cleared my throat, "I would dawn my work clothes and grab my equipment bag after eating breakfast. You would greet me at the door, still wearing your apron, and say, 'Have a nice day dear,' as I left."

She looked up at me, raising an eyebrow, "Is that really how it's supposed to go?"

"Yep," I said sternly.

"Okay," she said, moving to remove herself from my shoulder.

"Ah ah ah," I said, pulling her back down to where she was, "I don't remember saying it was a bad thing."

She frowned, "You're making fun of me again."

A loud ring interrupted our bickering. This time I was the one frowning, as that ring happened to be the door bell, "Who the hell goes around ringing doorbells at six o' clock in the morning?" We both stood and she followed me to the door. I opened it up and blinked at the person standing in front of me. She was a lot shorter than I was, and had brown hair tied into a useless tail at the end. Her uniform spoke volumes, it was a girl from our school, and her green badge told me she was a first year. "Do I know you?"

"You seem awfully familier to Fuuko."

"Fuuko?"

The girl nodded sternly, "Very very familier, I'll give you two."

"Two what?"

Before I could protest she had shoved what looked like two wooden carvings into my hand. "Starfish?"

She nodded.

Wait, why did I think they were starfish?! They had none of the defining characteristics!

What the hell was this?

"Um... thanks?"

"Please, Fuuko would like you to attend her sister's wedding," she said sternly, bowing deeply.

I held out my hand, "Erm, you don't need to bow like that."

This girl was eerily familier. "Um... Fuuko was it? Who's your sister."

"She was a teacher at the school three years ago. Fuuko remembers it clearly. Fuuko has been going around the school and door to door handing out the invitations."

I looked down at the things that were supposed to be starfish and sighed, "When's the wedding?" For some odd reason I felt like asking.

"Fuuko is glad you asked, it is next Saturday at the school!"

"I guess I'll come if I have the time."

"Promise Fuuko!"

"Wha..."

"Promise!"

"Um... I'm not sure I can..."

I felt a nudge in my side. I turned to see Tomoyo egging me on, nodding firmly, "Yeah!" I suddenly said. Fuuko startled a bit before I continued, "I'll definately be there."

"Okazaki-san has a heart!" She shouted, running off in the other direction down the apartment walk.

"H... hey, how the hell do you know my name?!" I eyed the door, and sure enough Tomoyo hadn't put up my name plate, then how did she...

Tomoyo rested her head on my shoulder and laughed lightly, "That was Ibuki Fuuko, she just got out of the hospital and her sister is getting married."

"She was hospitalised? For how long?"

"I'm not sure, but it would be rude to turn down such an invitation. I know you're scheduled to work next Saturday."

I shook my head, "No, it's alright, I'll talk with the boss and work something out." I sighed and scratched the back of my head, "What a strange girl..."

-----------

_I vaguely wondered when it became like this._

I had been fired from the recycling job. I now worked part time in an auto shop, working on people's cars, doing oil changes. The pay was decent, and I was well liked.

_It seemed like an eternity had passed._

I was often the victim of oil leaks, but it was alright, anything to support Tomoyo. Her parents had agreed to pay for her college, and she was studying herself to the bone, so I had to work hard as well. She wasn't going to an esteemed university, but she was still going to a place that I couldn't hope to reach.

_My hands were torn and bruised, the knuckles bloody and scraped._

Today was when I got my next paycheck, this paycheck was special, it wouldn't be going towards bills or rent, I had already paid those. It was actually a God send that I was fired. This job paid much better than the one I gained out of school.

_I stood over his body, staring down at him. There was no regret... no guilt._

_"TOMOYA!"_

"Okazaki!"

"Huh?" My head jerked up as my concentration was broken and I hit it on the oil pan I was removing, "Ow!"

My boss smirked, "When you get working you really concentrate don't you?"

I smiled sheepishly, "I guess so."

He was leaning down under the car, "We got that block heater guy coming in today, says his car won't start anymore and he needs one."

"He's overreacting," I said, "Probably just a low battery, don't over charge the poor sap."

His smirk turned to a grin, "Wouldn't even think of it!"

"We've also got another commercial bus coming in."

"Sheesh."

"Hey, not a lot of people drive in Japan, we've gotta make money somehow."

"I know I know."

The boss frowned, "speaking of which, you might want to start scouting for another job."

I sighed, "So the rumors were true, the bus station is changing then."

"Yeah," he said, "They're getting their own hub and everything. This shop's main profit comes from the commercial systems that the town uses. I'll reccomend you, don't forget to mention me on your resume, you're a good worker."

I sighed and laid my head back on the stroller, staring up at the oil pan I still had yet to remove, "I hope I can get some decent work."

"You pop the question yet?"

I grinned.

----------

"What the hell... is this..."

On my way back to the apartment I was halted by several individuals. They seemed to be looking for trouble as far as I was concerned, and the fact that they were blocking my path only served to confirm my suspicions. It was before the train crossing that lead back to my apartment building. Three stood in front of the bar for the train crossing, and two more were behind me. "What do you guys want?" I asked.

The biggest one, in the middle of the group by the crossing, smirked and stepped forward, "So is it true?"

I scoffed, "Is what true?"

"You're fucking Sakagami."

My eyebrow twitched, "I don't see how it's any of your business if I am."

The punk grinned, "Well if you are then I have to give you a hand brat, that bitch is untouchable."

My eyebrow twitched again, these bastards were hitting all the right buttons, "If you have something to say then say it!"

"Hey now, no need to get hostile, we're just here to talk."

"I'm only going to ask one more time, what do you want?"

He frowned, "You've got guts talking to me like that kid."

"You looking to pick a fight or what?"

His croonies tried to step forward, but he held his arms out and stopped them, smirking, "You and me? I like the sound of that."

"Stop!"

The shout came from behind them. My girlfriend, Tomoyo, stood on the other side of the crossing as it began to ring. "Speak of the devil," said one of the croonies.

"If you lay a hand on him..."

"Tomoyo, go back inside," I said.

"But..."

"I thought you were done with fighting."

"I am, but..."

"If it's just one I can handle it, go back inside!"

The thug smirked and cracked his knuckles, "Let's get this show on the road then."

"Don't you think it's a little immature for tech school students to go around beating on innocent people? Why do you think Tomoyo paved your face into the ground in the first place?" I snapped. I looked behind the thug and saw that Tomoyo was still standing at the other end of the train crossing. Just as the train passed the thug charged forward.

I was no expert, but I had been in my fair share of fights at school, and despite his intimidating size, my current opponent was slow. His first blow was a punch, cocked all the way behind his head like this was some cheesy anime. When he brought it down it went past my ear as I stepped forward, kneeing him in the gut. He coughed and stepped back before coming in with another blow. This one was faster, and he landed a solid hit on my cheek.

I ignored the pain and plowed forward, hooking him in the jaw with my right fist. I brought my other fist to his stomach and pushed forward. he train finished passing as he stumbled backwards onto the track. A moment of fright crossed his face, he knew he could have died. He jerked his head to his two croonies, the moved in and held me, tripping me down to the ground as the other two came to watch. The lead thug regained himself and the crossing bars snapped up.

He slugged me in my stomach. I coughed, suddenly finding it hard to breath.

"Tomoya!"

"Is that... all you got... bastard."

Another slug to the stomach. I inhaled as best I could, gasping for air, "C'MON!" I shouted.

Another hit.

Everything was going black.

I saw her running.

Another hit.

My vision was getting fuzzy.

The lead thug was the first to go down, but I couldn't see what she did to the other four. I coughed again, feeling something warm fly out of my mouth. I brought my hand to it and wiped it away. It was warm and wet. As my vision slowly cleared I saw Tomoyo kneel down beside me, tears in her eyes, "You idiot," she whispered to me. "They came here for me."

"Why do they... hate you so much?"

"C'mon," she urged, "Let's get you inside."

----------

I savored the tea, feeling its warmth spread through my stomach eased the remaining pain. Getting back to work the next day wouldn't be a problem. Tomoyo sat across from me instead of next to me, that was my first hint that something was wrong. She looked worried, and scared. "Thanks, I feel better."

The silence was dreadful.

"Tomoyo," I said softly. "Well... we're living together now, and maybe we're going to..." I swallowed, "Start a family one day. Don't you think it's about time that you told me what happened?"

"A family," she said softly, "I would like that." She fiddled with her tea cup. After a moment of hesitation she looked me dead in the eye, "Tomoya... I trust you."

It was a simple phrase, but it made me feel warm, like the tea had. "I trust you," I repeated.

She sighed and brushed some hair out of her face, "I told you... that I never really got along with my family. My parents would always fight, and I was distant from my brother. I was angry, I was frustrated, I just wanted to take it out on something. I was kicked out of my karate classes because of it, my grades plummeted."

I tried to imagine Tomoyo with bad grades in school, it was difficult, even now she was an ace student.

"I started beating up the local thugs, thinking that they deserved it for causing mischief and strife. And one night, I saw something that changed me. I was on my way home after one of my runs, it was under the Sakura trees on the route to school. It was a man... and a girl from our school. He had her pinned up against the tree, and she looked... so scared."

"He was raping her."

She nodded, "I noticed that he was tearing her clothes off. I acted without hesitation, before I knew it he was at my feet, and the girl had long since ran. He had a jacket on, from the engineering school. I had heard rumors that there were a lot of hoodlums from that school. Even the teachers and mentors were questionable. As far as I was concerned it wasn't worthy of even being on the map. I went on a rampage, taking them out one by one. When I got home I was torn apart, physically and mentally. My parents yelled at me. The next day Hikarizaka Engineering School was shut down for a week, it was all over the news and I was taken in for questioning. I was let off with a slap on the wrist, but the damage was already done.

"My parents' voices got louder and louder. My mom stopped cooking dinner and was even more distant than she was in the beginning. All they did was yell and fight, and I couldn't help but think that it was my fault they were this way. My fault that things were worse, when I already thought they were as bad as they could be. I was just... so selfish. A couple of weeks later, nii-san threw himself into traffic and was hospitalised. Our broken family was brought back together by his sacrafice. I learned a lot that day. I started to look after my brother, we began to act like brother and sister. My mom started making me boxed lunches again, my dad would greet me with a smile, waving the morning paper around and telling me I needed to work hard.

"I started going back to school again. I would take my brother on strolls outside the hospital, pushing him along in his wheel chair. He always wanted to walk underneath the sakura trees on the way to school, saying he couldn't wait until he graduated and was able to walk to school with me. The trees were his favorite. I found out that they were going to be cut down in favor of some shops, placed to be convinient for the students and faculty of the school. I thought to myself, 'Isn't it sad, something so beautiful has to be destroyed.'

"He loved those trees, and so I promised him, I promised him that I would work hard to make sure that at least they stayed the same. Even if the rest of the town changes, those trees have to stay the same. And... that's when I met you... Tomoya. I was still weak, but you made me strong. Even after you broke up with me, I knew I would want to meet you again. I didn't want it to end like that. I don't want to be a prodigy, I just want to go to a normal college, and I want to have a normal career, and a loving family, that's all I ever wanted."

Her voice trailed off until she became silent, I set my cup down and found myself standing. I walked around the table and sat cross legged next to her. I leaned forward and took her in my arms, inhaling the scent of her hair, "Tomoyo?"

"Yeah?"

I reached into my pocket and pulled and small black box from it. I could hear and feel her breath hitch, "Marry me."

It wasn't a question, or a request, it was something we both wanted.

Tomoyo smiled, "Yeah," she said softly. "Hey, if we can...let's move away from this place. After I graduate... let's leave. I don't want these things to happen anymore."

I took the ring from the box. It was small, gold in color, with a ruby, not a diamond. It wasn't the most expensive, but I knew she wouldn't care. She held up her left hand and I slipped it on her finger, leaning in to give her a kiss. When we broke apart I smiled, "What does an honor student like you see in a delinquint like me?"

"You don't give yourself enough credit," she said warmly. "Hey, Tomoya?"

"Yeah?"

She grabbed my collar and pulled me in for another kiss, "C'mon," she said, standing up after breaking away.

I stood and she led me to our bed room. A single futon lay in the center of the room. She grabbed my hand and pulled me along, I was reminded of when I met her, and she would drag me whereever she wanted to go. I smirked, "What's with this all of a sudden." She turned around and clamped her hand over my mouth.

"Don't talk, if you do I'll start getting embarrased, promise," she said firmly.

I nodded my head and she pulled her hand away. She continued, "Remember when I told you that you weren't allowed to think perverted things?"

I nodded, following her request to not speak.

"I've been thinking... maybe it's not that bad if you do. But that doesn't mean that we should..."

I moved forward and kissed her before she could protest. She let out a light sigh as I pulled away, "... rush things," she finished her sentence.

My arms were around her tightly, and her face was as red as I had seen it. She fidgeted a little, and I smirked.

She pulled down on my collar and returned the favor. "You can talk now," she whispered, "You're thinking perverted things, aren't you?"

I smiled, "And you're not?"

"I would neve... mmm."

Another kiss, "It's warm," I whispered.

"Maybe a little."

"Hm?"

Her face grew even more red, "Maybe I think about it a little. But I'm still in High school, and we're not married yet, so..."

"Tomoyo."

"Yes?"

"Shut up," I said with a laugh, "Just do what feels natural." I pulled away from her completely and laid back on the futon. "Well?"

"You're making fun of me again."

I grinned, "So why don't you come down here and get your revenge?"

I didn't think it was possible for Tomoyo's face to get this red, and sure enough, she listened, descending on me, hesitantly at first. "Tomoya, I love you," she said softly, leaning down for another kiss.

-------

Weeks passed this way. Tomoyo was still the sharpest nail in school. She bumped herself up to first place in test scores, and revolutionized several procedures for the student council and faculty of the school. Tardiness plummeted, and the school saw an all time high in attendance and grade point average. It was hard to believe this was going to be the woman I would marry. The auto shop closed down, but I had enough money saved to hold us off for a month while I found a new job.

We attended Ibuki-sensei's wedding, much to the delight of her little sister, who promised to come visit again soon.

Tomoyo's parents gave us both their blessing, but the actual paperwork for the marriage was not to be done until Tomoyo graduated.

It happened on a morning like any other.

I woke up, expecting my fiance to be lurking over me, the manner in which she always woke my up. There was nothing.

I closed my eyes tight again, trying to think of a reason why she wasn't there. A dream, yeah, that's right, a dream, I can think of no other explanation as to why she wouldn't come to torture me in the morning. Granted it was a day off for both of us, but she always woke me up regardless. I opened my eyes once more, and was once again greeted with the sight of nothing. Then I heard it.

A horrible hacking and gurgling.

I was out of the futon in an instant and standing outside the bathroom, "Tomoyo?" I called.

I heard her cough. "I'm coming in," I said, opening the door slowly.

The first thing I saw when I opened the door was her wiping her face with a small tissue. Then I saw her look up at me and smile, almost as if she was happy that she was puking her guts out. Then I saw a little gadget on the bathroom sink, it was long and white, and I saw what looked like a plus sign.

I closed the door.

"Hey," she shouted, her voice was hoarse.

I took a deep breath and pulled the door back open, "You must have gotten sick from that bad convinience store food I bought, I'll make sure to go complain to the store clerk!" I shouted.

She frowned, "That's not very funny, Tomoya."

I cleared my throat, "Yep, will NOT be shopping at that store again."

"Tomoya."

"Definately a no go, in fact, that cashier was really rude to me."

"You are so helpless."

I frowned and nodded firmly, "In fact, I'm going to encourage all my friends to boycott the store, Kyou, Sunohara, Furukawa, hell, even the teachers. If we're lucky it'll get shut down, no one poisons my fiance!"

"If it's a boy, we'll name him Youhei."

"HELL NO!"

She smirked, "And here I was thinking you had the nerve to ignore me."

I sighed and scratched the back of my head, smiling sheepishly.

She stood slowly, gaining her footing, "I'll brush my teeth and get breakfast started while you process the situation," she said softly, "Shoo." She shoved me out of the bathroom.

When the door shut in my face realization finally dawned on me, "Holy crap," I muttered. My face contorted into what can only be described as something between a grin and a grimace. My emotions were jumbled, I wanted to jump for joy... or jump out the nearest window.

I shook my head, trying to clear it. "Well," I said to myself, "We both want a family."

When the door to the bathroom opened again she looked up at me, "You've been here this entire time?"

I moved forward and wrapped my arms around her, tucking my face into the croke of her neck and breathing deeply. When I pulled back I smiled softly and stroked her cheek, "I guess we're having a baby," I said softly.

She laughed, "I guess so. So much for tests being my greatest concern."

----------


	2. Chapter 2

**Clannad After Story: Tomoyo**

**Part 2**

_It was dark when I awoke, almost pitch black. There was no moonlight shining through my window. Part of my mind remembered that this part of the month retained a new moon. I vaguely wondered why they called it new, it wasn't as if it was starting over completely, or being replaced. My feet carried me out of bed and down the stairs. The drunken man was asleep in front of the table, empty beer cans and snack foods were scattered about. I tried to ignore it and made my way towards the door. When I opened it I heard a slight shuffle._

_"Tomoya-kun... are you going out?"_

_I left without a word, firmly shutting the door behind me. It was his fault I couldn't play basketball anymore... it was because of him._

_Much as I did recently, I let my feet carry me wherever they would._

_I found myself heading towards a small shop I liked to visit when I was small. It was closed when I got there of course. It was a trinket place that sold all sorts of interesting toys and candies. I was surprised that this place was still open after all this time._

_The drunken man took me here occasionaly, but he stopped when I turned fourteen. He started slugging around, he would go to sleep right after coming home, and he brought home TV dinners instead of making home cooked meals. He took to drinking, and in one of his stuppors, ended up injuring my shoulder._

_I could never forgive him for that._

_I looked around myself, trying to figure out where to go next._

_In the distance I could see a person standing under a street lamp._

_The figure told me it was a woman._

_I called out to her._

_This only resulted in her running in the other direction._

_My feet carried me towards the street lamp, to where she had been standing._

_On the ground, just under my feet, was a small puddle of red liquid._

_----------_

**Poke**

"Mrrgh, five more minutes Tomoyo."

**Poke**

I rolled over, trying to ignore the strange sensation on my nose.

**Poke**

It moved to my ear. I jolted up and shoke my head, "Can't you let me sleep in for once, would that be so har..."

I froze.

The eyes that were looking at me were not my fiance's, but rather, that of the strange child-woman from yesterday. "Fuuko-san?"

I heard a light laugh come from the door.

Ah, there was Tomoyo. "I decided to shirk my duty of waking you up today in favour of the girl."

My eyebrow twitched. Not being woken up by Tomoyo, my morning became bleak instantly. To be woken up by this strange person while I was sleeping, I wouldn't have it! "Hey, what the hell's this supposed to be, what's this strange girl even doing in our apartment?"

"She brought treats, I couldn't very well turn the girl down."

"Fuuko is not strange, in fact, neighbors consider Fuuko quite normal, and charming."

I blanched, "What kind of neighbors do you have?"

"Normal neighbors."

"Right, and why are you here? Shouldn't you be hanging out with your sister?"

She suddenly blushed and looked to the side, "Fuuko didn't want to interrupt."

Huh, maybe this girl was more mature than I gave her credit for. Wait, that still didn't change the fact that she was in my apartment. Tomoyo let her in, I guess she couldn't be all bad. Besides, she was cute, kind of like a little sister.

In reaction to this thought, my hand acted of its own accord and reached out to pat her on the head.

She paled instantly and slapped my hand away.

Curious, I tried again, only to be rejected once more.

And again.

And again.

She let out a blood curdling scream, vacating to the opposite corner of the room before I had time to ask what the issue was.

She sat in the corner, huddled into herself, hugging one of her many carved starfish. "You're still carving those?" I asked, "I thought Ibuki-sensei's wedding was the reason you did."

"Fuuko enjoys them."

"Eh?"

She smiled wistfully, playing with the small wood carving.

Something was wrong here. I stood from the futon and walked to the closet, pulling out a pair of slacks and putting them on. Tomoyo frowned, "I thought I was the only girl you'd walk in front of like that."

I scoffed, adjusting my shirt and walking to Fuuko. "Does she look like a normal girl to you?"

Looking down at her, yep, something was definately wrong. Her eyes were closed, and she was still smiling, making little noises of appreciation in her throat. I waved a hand in front of her face, and when she failed to respond, I smirked.

"Tomoyo, can you get a juice container from the fridge for me?"

"Juice... container?"

She questioned me, tilting her head, but complied nonetheless, and came back to the room with a small box container of apple juice. I opened the straw and pushed it into the small hole. For some reason, I felt this was something I should do. As I raised the juice box to Fuuko's nose Tomoyo attempted to stop me. "Tomoya, stop, what are you..."

It was already too late.

The straw had entered her nostril and I had long since squeezed the container.

Fuuko jerked back and sneezed profously. Tomoyo sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What happened, Fuuko suddenly felt... refreashed."

I tried to keep myself from laughing, "Maybe you shouldn't space out, people will do strange things to you."

She pointed a finger at me accusingly, "Strange person doing strange things."

"What did I do? I'm just enjoying my juice," I said with a grin.

"Alright you two," said Tomoyo, playing the role of a parent breaking up a quarral between siblings. "Ibuki-san came here for a reason, she wanted to bring treats as a thank you for attending her sister's wedding."

I turned back to the girl and smiled, she may have been weird, but she wasn't so bad, "You baked treats for everyone at the wedding? That's impressive."

Fuuko looked contemplative, bringing a finger to her chin, "Hmmm, just Okazaki-san and Sakagami-san."

"Just us? W...why?"

"No, not just you, Fuuko is not rude!"

"Make up your mind," I said with a sigh.

"Also... Furukawa-san, Fujibayashi-san, and the strange girl in the book store."

"Strange girl in the book store? You didn't even know her?"

"Fuuko is polite, the girl came to the wedding so Fuuko baked for her. The girl was also pretty, and thanked Fuuko kindly!"

Was there a way to thank someone unkindly?

"Fuuko also likes these people, Okazaki-san and Sakagami-san also. Even if Okazaki-san is strange!"

"That's like the pot calling the kettle black!"

"No, Fuuko didn't use a pot and a kettle to bake."

I sighed, this girl was really something else.

-----------

It happened on my way to the store.

I was stuffed with sweets to my core. Tomoyo's breakfasts were always even, and left me feeling full and satisfied, but the sheer amount of starfish treats that girl had brought made me feel like I was going to explode. She kept on insisting that Tomoyo and I eat it all. I was moving slowly.

I turned the corner of the street leading to the store...

"OI, LOOK OUT!!"

My head turned just in time to see the object I should have been looking out for.

My brain registered that it was a baseball a split second before it smacked me in the face.

I think I went tumbling several feet from the sheer force of the ball, but at the time I didn't even know what was happening. I didn't feel any pain at all.

Ah, there it was.

This must have been the after life.

I could see an angel standing above me.

I smiled and sighed wistfully.

Maybe dying wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Okazaki-kun!"

Oh, she knew my name, no need for introductions then. "Hello there," I said softly, "Angel."

I guess angel's could blush as well.

And apparantly they stammered, "U...u... um... Ooookazaki-kun, it's me."

I shot up, shaking my head of the daze it had been in, "Furukawa-san. What the..."

She smiled bashfully, still blushing, and brought her hand to her collar, "My dad must have accidently hit you with his baseball."

Oh, so that's what happened.

I suddenly felt a pressure on my shirt collar and found myself being lifted into the air. "Hey you..." It was more of an inhuman growl than an outright statement. I found myself looking into the eyes of a beast, "You've got some nerve, making my daughter blush like that without even asking her out!"

I swallowed deep, "Uh, I already... have a girlfriend."

I saw the man's eyebrow twitch, "So you think you're some kinda playboy huh?"

"D... dad, stop it."

"Hrmph, you're lucky," he growled, dropping me back on my feet, "My name is Akio, Akio Furukawa, and you better not get any funny ideas."

Furukawa stepped forward, "Okazaki-kun, follow me, we'll get you looked at."

"R... right."

-----------

I sat across from Furukawa, in their dining room. They lived and worked in a small but busy bakery it seemed. When we walked in I met her mother and saw her attending to some children, a day care it seemed. She quickly and proficiantly nursed my bleeding head, applying a bandage with the utmost of care.

"Hey," I said softly, hoping to kick up conversation, "Did you ever get to start the drama club back up?"

She looked down at the floor, regretful, "I'm afraid not."

Oh, touchy subject, "Did you have fun at graduation?"

She looked even worse, "I got sick again, I have to repeat."

I felt sick to my stomach. This girl tried so hard and got nothing in return. Maybe I should have helped her back then.

I shook my head of the thought, "Hey... do you like the school?"

She looked back up at me, surprise crossing her features, she finally answered, "Yes, very much."

I smiled, "I liked it too, and I'm glad I went there. I met a lot of interesting people, and someone important to me."

She was silent.

I continued, "Sorry, I just felt like answering that question you asked me on the road to school. I hated it at first, but now, I honestly can't say I regretted it at all. I graduated, and because of that I can take care of the person I love. When I first saw you on that hill you looked scared, I wondered whether I should call out to you, but I did, and there's no turning back from that decision, just like you can't turn your back on your goals."

"Okazaki... kun..."

"I didn't help you much back then."

"That's not true, because of you I kept on walking."

"Yeah, but when you tried making the drama club I didn't step in at all." I smiled bitterly, "I was kind of a jerk back then, I just wanted to get out. I told myself you could handle it, that I didn't need anyone dragging me down. The truth was... I was afraid. I was afraid of talking to people, helping them. Then I met Tomoyo Sakagami, and she showed me what it felt like to make a difference. I thought I was scum, that I was holding her down, and again, I was just afraid, but not for myself this time. Tomoyo is the council president, she is an amazing woman and I love her with all my heart. When you go to school tomorrow you should talk to her, I am sure she'll help you where I couldn't."

I stood from the table, and she copied my movements. Taking the opprotunity, I bowed deeply, deeper than I had when my last sensei helped me find a job. She gasped.

"I'm sorry... I didn't help you when I should have, and if possible, I'd like to be friends."

She smiled, "O... of course."

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I saw her smiling. Not the smile that she was showing me now. It was a sad smile, full of heartache and regret.

Perhaps, in a different life...

I casted away the thought and stood straight once more, "I really, really like that school."

I echoed her words, and her smile widened.

------------

"Crap."

I lifted the lid off the pot, preventing it from boiling over. This was a lot harder than Tomoyo made it seem. I had burned the first batch and was already well on my way to screwing up the soup. I managed to fight my way through the chicken curry. I remembered her mentioning that she liked curry a lot. I was proud of myself for at least that. Furukawa had helped me pick out the proper ingrediants to make it, and had even given me tips that the cook book failed to mention. 'She'll make a good wife to someone,' I thought to myself, stirring the potatoes.

An hour and a half later Tomoyo arrived home from school. She was surprised to see me, not to mention the dishes and food that had been set out for her, "Tomoya."

I grinned, "Well you're doing it all the time, I figured I'd take it into my own hands for once and give you a break, I know you have a lot of studying to do, and I know Furukawa-san talked to you today."

Tomoyo smiled and removed her shoes, making her way to the small table, "Her situation is tough, but I approved her to advertise for the club and pulled a few strings, so she should get at least a handful of members willing to put on a play or two. I take it you ran into her the other day."

"Yeah, it was nice talking with her. Her dad is a bit on the strange side."

"This coming from you? I met that girl's father today, he reminds me of you."

I could feel the blood drain from my face almost immidiately, "N... no way."

She smiled warmly, "Over protective, pulls stupid pranks, doesn't know when to shut up, and extremely handsome."

I gritted my teeth, "I appriciate the compliment, but..."

"Jealous?"

"...Yeah."

"Itadakimasu," she whispered, beginning to eat.

"Hey! You're supposed to make me feel better!"

"This is delicious," she said, ignoring my protests, "How long did you work on this?"

I felt heat rise to my face, "A few hours, I screwed up a couple of times before I got it right, the kitchenware isalready cleaned, and I took the trash out too." I sat down next to her and took a deep breath, "I'm glad you like it, I was worried I might have accidently poisoned you or something."

"It's really good for a beginner, you should be proud. Maybe I'll give you cooking lessons."

"You have to concentrate on school work," I said, tapping her nose with my finger, "We'll worry about small stuff like that after we've settled."

She frowned and blushed a little, "We still have to tell my parents about the baby, they won't be happy, but it's not like I'll miss a lot of school, and I can talk to the Headmaster and work something out. Are you going to eat?"

"I ate earlier because I knew it'd be tough cooking for you. Furukawa helped out a lot."

"Remember to thank her for me."

"I will."

"Hey... Tomoya?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm worried..."

I raised an eyebrow, "About what?

"I'm worried about our child. I have a bad feeling, and I can't exactly explain why. It's probably because I know those thugs won't give up so easily. They'll keep coming, and every time there will be more. Normally, it wouldn't be an issue, but..." She pet her stomach lightly.

I put my hand over hers, "If worse comes to worse we'll stay somewhere else in the city. I'll make sure to protect you both. Furukawa's old man looked pretty tough, and I'm sure he'd be willing to help out."

"Tomoya."

I pulled her hand up and kissed it. "I promise you. I won't let any harm come to this family. Just worry about what's ahead of you, and keep getting good grades, keep doing your job as the council president. Keep looking after your brother, I'll take care of the rest."

She smiled, "I've never been protected before," she said softly, "I'm so good at fighting that nobody even bothered. It feels... nice."

I smirked, "Well I won'tlie, you are a very intimidating girl."

She frowned, "You didn't seem scared when we first met."

"That's because I knew you'd beat up on Sunohara and not me. If I was on the receiving end of your attacks I wouldn't be very calm," I said with a laugh.

"Then be glad I love you too much to hurt you."

"Tch, I am."

She wrapped her hand tighter around mine, squeezing and stroking my palm with her thumb. "I'm happy."

----------


	3. Chapter 3

**Clannad After Story: Tomoyo**

**Part 3**

_I entered quietly, knowing that the drunken man was most likely asleep, and would wake if I caused too much ruckus. As day after day passed I had taken a liking to avoiding him as much as possible. It was only in the late hours that I saw him these days, and he was always passed out from drinking too much. He stopped bringing home TV dinners and started just leaving cash for me._

_Pitiful._

_I tried to remember the last time he had showed any bit of affection, but it was all just a blur. The only thing that mattered now was the days that were passing me by, and I had taken to ignoring those as well. My grades were no longer anything to brag about, and I simply wasted time in class with Sunohara._

_He and I got along well._

_We were both delinquents._

_It was like every bit of happiness I had was slipping through my fingers, little by little..._

--------

"Tomoya."

I sighed, loathe to be pulled away from my sleep this morning, she had promised to give me more rest this weekend, as next week I wouldn't have a day off. "Did you forget?" I muttered.

I felt her hand go through my hair softly. It felt good when she did that, "I know," she said softly, "I'm sorry, but you have a phone call, and the caller says it's urgent and can't wait."

I reached up, rubbing my eyes as I sat up and took the phone from her, "Moshi moshi."

_"Hello, is this Tomoya Okazaki?"_

"Yes, who's this?"

_"I'm Your grandmother's lawyer, Higurashi Takeya. I'm calling because I have some bad news."_

"Yeah?"

_"Your father passed away yesterday night. He was hit by a car on the way home... it was a hit and run."_

Everything around me stopped. Apparantly I had a distraught expression, because my fiance began to look worried, "What do you mean?"

_"I'm calling about his will."_

"What about it?"

Part of me refused to care that the drunken man had died.

Part of me wanted to scream out in anger.

_"Okazaki-san, I think it's best if you drop by my office, this is a matter that should be personally discussed with you. What time would be best."_

"I don't know," I muttered, rubbing my eyes, "Any time today would be fine."

_"How about one o' clock in the afternoon? After lunch?"_

"Yeah, that'll work."

---------

The office was dimly lit by a single lamp on the small desk. The man behind it was a clean cut type, short hair, glasses, a sharp looking suit. I sat down in the chair in front of the desk, and Tomoyo followed suit with the other chair. Her grip on my hand tightened slightly. I appriciated her support, but it was really nothing to be worried about. I really didn't feel much at that moment. The man, Higurashi-san, removed his glasses and took a deep breath, "I'm not here because your father couldn't afford a lawyer, I'm here because he didn't want one, and the role is automatically passed to me to carry out his will."

"I don't know much about law," I said, "But why was it passed to you."

"It was requested in the will that a lawyer of immidiate family be responsible for distributing his belongings accordingly, but apparantly my job won't be that hard."

"And why's that?" I was playing along, I knew he didn't have much to his name. It was an easy job, casting away the leftovers of a lazy existence.

Higurashi pinched the bridge of his nose, "Your father left you everything. Your grandfather passed along a small amount of wealth to your father, this was used to pay off the debts he owed, and the rest of it, along with his personal belongings, goes to you. What's left of the fortune is quite hefty. One million seventy two thousand yen, give or take a bit."

I felt the blood drain from my face, he had that money all along and didn't even think to use it to better himself?

"Here," said Higurashi, reaching under his desk and pulling up a small box. He set it in front of me, "Personal effects that were left to you."

I hesitated at first, especially when Tomoyo let go of my hand. She had remained silent this entire time, and I wondered what she was making of this strange situation. She knew about the bad blood between my father and I, she was most likely keeping silent out of respect. I took the box slowly and opened it. Inside were several things. His notebook, which I never saw him writing in, a stopwatch that was given to him by my grandfather, and...

I froze.

I could feel my stomach clench.

Tomoyo laid a hand on my shoulder, "What's wrong?" she asked softly.

I reached into the box slowly and grasped the object. I held it gently, carefully, handling it like it was glass.

It was a small toy, a robot with red eyes and a dome for a head.

I laughed bitterly, "I'm... such an idiot..."

-----------

The podium was the only thing I saw. I knew there was a crowd in front of me, some of them I recognized, some of them I didn't. I was speaking for the man who was to be buried that day. "I'm going to be honest... I didn't know my father."

Some people in the crowd looked a bit startled, but I continued, "I was a delinquent in school, my grades were horrible. I wouldn't come home until late at night, and I would always step over him, passed out on the floor from drinking. I hated him, I avoided him at all costs. He talked to me less and less, we grew apart... until we were strangers." I swallowed a lump in my throat, "But... but I remembered something recently. When I was a boy, we went on a trip together. We stopped at a store... and he bought me some candy, and a toy robot, and he said to me, 'Tomoya, I got this just for you.'

"I thought for a long time about this memory, and when I read his will I realized... he sacraficed everything for me..." I choked, finally giving into my tears. "He couldn't hold a job because he kept taking days off for me. He fell into depression and started getting drunk. In one of his fits he injured my shoulder, and... and the reason he stopped talking to me is because... because he thought I would hate him. He paid for me to go to school, and learn, and make friends. I didn't realize that I wasn't the only one suffering, I was selfish and concieted. And now that I think about it, if I had taken the time to sit down with him, hold a conversation, listen to what he was saying, maybe it would've been different."

I reached up, wiping the tears from my eyes, "I stand here to speak about the man who died but a few days ago, but I don't even know him well enough to do that, I wouldn't be able to do him justice.

"But I will say one thing. That man sacraficed everything so that I could live happily, and... and I hope he can rest easy, because I am. He was the father of an ungrateful son, but no longer. He will be in our thoughts, and I will remember what he did for me. Thank you..."

_Tomoya,_

_I leave this letter with my will in the hope that you may one day read it. Do you remember the trip that we took to your grandmother's? The sunflower field was your favorite place to play. I would give almost anything to return to that day, so I could see you smile again._

_When you moved out, I saw you leave with Sakagami-san. I knew she was the council president at your school, this coupled with the fact that you had graduated, I swelled with pride. I was able to accomplish my mission._

_I saw you smile as you left with her, and I knew that she made you happy._

_Tomoya, I did many things to hurt you, and for that, I apologize with all my heart._

_But I am also happy._

_I am so proud of you my son._

_-Naoyuki Okazaki_

---------

"Are you going to be alright Tomoya?"

I sighed and took a mouthful of rice. Swallowing it before smiling lightly, our apartment was eerily quiet that night, almost as if to respect the deceased. Tomoyo put a hand on my shoulder and returned my smile before I replied, "Yeah, I'm going to be fine. It just... everything hit me so fast, I almost didn't have time to absorb it all. All those years of pent up anger and frustration, it all just vanished, almost instantly. Whoa..."

I was suddenly pushed to the ground, and my spoon went flying clear across the room and out the window, I looked up at the girl perched on top of me and blinked. She leaned down and kissed my fiercly, when she pulled away I blinked again, "Since when have you been this aggressive?" I asked with a smirk.

"I wanted to make you feel better."

"Well... it worked, but we lost a spoon in the process."

She looked over at the window and frowned, "Crap."

"See where reckless abandon gets you? Now we have an incomplete set of silverware, not to mention the chopsticks from last week."

She went red instantly, "I thought we agreed not to talk about that."

I grinned, "I thought it was nice, chopsticks not withstanding."

My stomach rumbled and she sighed, "Sorry," she said, pushing herself off of me. I took my previous postion and she retrieved a spoon for me. I took it and she sighed, sitting down next to me once again, "Furukawa-san's club is doing well. She's a bit shy, but she makes friends quickly. If I didn't have to worry about being president I would have joined the theatre club as well."

The door bell rang.

I sighed and set my spoon down, not getting a chance to reply to the good news. When I opened the door I frowned, "Who the hell are you?"

"STOP SAYING THAT!"

"Oh," said Tomoyo, completely nonchalant, "Look who it is."

In front of me stood the lower life form Sunohara Youhei. I looked him up and down for a moment before my eyes rested on his black hair. My lips twitched, "Pfff... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Stop laughing at me! Sakagami-san, how nice it is to see you!"

He stepped around me, holding out his arms as if to hug the girl in front of him.

A split second later he was face down on the floor moaning in pain.

"I'm sorry, my leg just reacted to your presence."

"What kind of... reaction... is that?" He groaned.

I leaned into Tomoyo and whispered, "Don't go around kicking him, you're pregnant remember?"

Her face reddened, "Y... yeah..."

Sunohara jumped up instantly, "What's that I hear, pregnant?!"

WHAM!

"Tomoyo!" I shouted.

"I'm sorry! Old habits!"

"What kind of... old habit... is that?"

I frowned, nudging the complaining Sunohara with my foot, "You did ask for it, that wasn't meant for your ears you know."

"So what are you doing here?" asked Tomoyo as he stood shakily.

"Well," he said, "I heard that Okazaki's dad died, so I bought a last minute plane ticket to fly up here, but all my flights ended up being canceled. I waited in the air port for hours! Then they gave me a bus ticket! Can you believe that! A bus ticket, when I should have been flying!"

"Idiots aren't meant to have wings," I muttered.

"Don't try to act wise!"

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, "Well, come on in, we've got some extra food for you if you're hungry."

We sat, and Sunohara gladly took to eating the extra food that Tomoyo had made. When he was done he rubbed his belly, "Man, I didn't know you could cook like that Okazaki."

I smirked, "Tomoyo made it."

He immediately started clawing at his throat, "Help! Somebody call 119, I've been poisoned!"

"It's too late for you," I said, relishing the moment as Tomoyo simply shook her head. "The poison has already started to spread slowly through your veins. First, you'll feel it creeping inside you, like a caterpiller. Then you'll start to feel uncomfortable. Then you'll develope cramps and pains all over your body. The pain will slowly consume you until you die."

"How long do I have!?"

"A minute, followed by a week of suffering."

"That's not funny!"

Tomoyo sighed, "I forgot how stupid things were when you two got together."

----------

"Hey... Okazaki?"

"Eh?"

We were watching some horror flick, while Tomoyo had gone out shopping in my stead. Sunohara smirked and put a hand on my shoulder, "It's good to see you two again. Just like old times."

I smiled warmly, "Exactly like old times," I said with a laugh.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your dad's funeral."

I sighed, "It's alright, the fact that you came down for it is enough. How is Mei doing?"

"She's about to graduate this year, she grew a whole inch, it's hard to believe she's headed off to high school."

"Man, a whole inch huh?"

"She insisted on coming with me. I would have let her, but last minute plane tickets are expensive enough for one person, and I'm not exactly rich."

"It would have been nice, maybe next time."

"Hey, do you ever get this feeling... like, things could have gone completely different for us? Like, what if you hadn't started dating Tomoyo?"

I pondered this for a moment, "Well, I've thought about it a little, why?"

"Um, well, I met this girl..."

I held my hand up, "Stop right there, you and girl in the same sentence just... doesn't work."

He frowned, "Hear your old buddy out for once."

"Alright alright," I said with a laugh.

"She's a smart one, quite a bit spacey and weird, but that's not bad, it's more of an endearing thing."

"Okay I get it you're in love, get to the point."

"Th... that has nothing to do with this!"

I shook my head and chuckled.

"Anyways," he continued, "She's going to be studying abroad in America for a couple of years before she comes back and starts her career, and she talked to me about some interesting things."

"How long have you known this girl?"

"A few months, she was actually one of the top students in our school you know. Her parents were big shot scientists, and she's continuing where they left off in their research."

"And this is relevent because?"

"Well, their research involved a lot of alternate universe mumbo jumbo, about how there are so many different paths, but we can only take one. And I guess, from what I've gathered of all her techno bable, that maybe we are doing more than one thing, we're just not aware of it. The way she explained it... was weird, but I'll try my best."

I took note of what he was saying. Something told me that the Sunohara sitting in front of me was smarter, better off than he was before.

"She said... that our conscience is collective, kind of like a colony of ants, they can communicate with each other, but they don't really know what there doing. There's always that saying where we only use ten or eleven percent of our brain power, but what if we could use all of it?"

"So you're saying my conscience is an ant colony?"

"No... dammit. That was just comparing it to something, I don't understand it much either. Again, this is just what I've gathered. And she said... that we are all our own person, but it's like we're split into different parts."

"This sounds like a pretty zanny theory."

"It is, but this isn't even the tip of the ice berg. She said that even though we're unaware of so many things happening around us, that we still manage to pull off this whole alternate choices thing. I was just wondering... what if you and Tomoyo hadn't hooked up, you know?"

I thought for a moment, "Maybe..."

"What?" he asked.

"I have strange dreams, almost like... I'm not myself, I'm someone different. No, never mind, it's nothing..."

"Okazaki, if you want to talk about it then talk."

"It's just... When I was talking to Furukawa-san the other day..."

"Furukawa? The bread girl?"

"Yeah, her. I felt like I could have done so much more to help her out, and when I asked to be her friend I saw something. It felt like a door shut in my face... and... she looked sad."

There was dead silence. Sunohara didn't say anything, and the crickets outside seemed to have all but dissappeared. The only thing I could hear was the rustling of the trees outside, and even then it was barely audible. I could see the picture on the TV, but there was no sound coming from it. I suddenly stood, "I feel like... I have to do something, but I don't know what."

"Let me come with you."

I nodded.

----------

_Let me take you to a place... where wishes are granted._

The walk was long, but we arrived in front of the hospital with time to spare, the sun was just setting. There were two people standing outside of the entrance to the hospital. They were familier to me. "Fujibayashi!" I shouted.

They both turned towards the sound of my voice and I ran to them, Sunohara following close behind, "Tomoya," muttered Kyou, "What are you doing here?"

I scratched the back of my head, "Erm, this might sound weird but, I kind just... came here."

I looked up at the hospital, it had recently been built, where once there was a flat plain of grass, there was now the towering building in front of us. "Hey, that's weird," said Kyou with a laugh, "I was taking Ryou somewhere... and we sort of forgot where we were going and ended up here," she laughed awkwardly, trying to pass it off as pure coincidence.

Ryou brought a finger to her chin, "How strange, my cards told me this would be a completely normal day."

My eyebrow twitched, "Anyways, I wonder why we're here," I said, uselessly trying to make sense of something that was beyond my reach. I stepped forward hesitantly, and the doors to the hospital kicked open.

"Well look who's here Fuu-chan."

I turned, and saw that numerous other people had decided to join us.

Ibuki-sensei was the one who spoke, and holding her hand was Fuuko. By them stood Mei. Sunohara's eyes widened, "Mei, what are you..."

She pouted, "I wanted to see Tomoya too!"

That wasn't all.

"Kotomi-chan!" shouted Sunohara.

A beautiful girl in a black dress walked past Ibuki sensei and smiled at Sunohara. Fuuko's jaw dropped and she pointed at her, "Strange book store girl!"

"Excuse me, excuse me, I'm sorry." A short girl made her way through the small throng of people. I recognized her as Yukine, the strange girl from the reference room.

A panting Misae-san followed her, scooping down to fetch her cat, who had obviously been running away again.

A man walked out from behind Ibuki-sensei, he tipped his hat in my direction, a silent and overly dramatic gesture. That must have been her husband, Yoshino Yusuke.

And last, but most definately not least...

"Tomoyo." I whispered her name. She held shopping bags, but she made her way to me and held my hand with the hand that was free, "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know," she said honestly.

I looked at the small crowd and frowned, "Let's go into the hospital..."

We all walked forward, and I caught sight of Akio and Sanea Furukawa. Akio was vehemently arguing with a doctor, who looked like he just crawled out of a hole filled with worms. "What do you mean you can't do anything?! That's my daughter!"

He was crying, Akio, the tough looking bastard who threatened me, he was crying. His wife Sanae looked like she had seen infinately better days. The doctor looked like he was about to apologize, but his eyes widened at the sheer number of people that had just swarmed into the hospital. Akio turned and saw me, "Oka... zaki?"

"Excuse me," said the doctor, "Are you all friends of Furukawa Nagisa."

I don't know why, but I nodded firmly, even though I was the only one in the crowd who was technically her friend, "Yes, we're here to see her." The words escaped my mouth before I could think about them. Tomoyo's grip tightened on my hand, and the crowd behind me looked worried.

"Very well," said the doctor hesitantly, "Follow me."

-----------

Sanae smiled, "Nagisa-chan, your friends are all here to see you," she said softly, leading us into the room one by one.

Luckily it was a large hospital room, lest it wouldn't be able to house all of us.

Furukawa lifted her head slowly and smiled, "Everyone," she said weakly, "Okazaki-kun too."

Tomoyo and I walked forward, still holding hands, "Furukawa... no, Nagisa," I said softly, "What happened?"

"I just had... a little dizzy spell."

Akio choked.

I knew that she was lying, the girl that was in that bed had opened death's door.

"We did a play, Okazaki-kun... it was so much fun."

"What was it about?" I asked softly.

"It was about a girl. She was the only girl in the whole world. Her only friend... was a doll made out of scrap metal that she spent days collecting."

"Who was the girl?"

"I... I don't know her name," she said softly, "But she was lonely."

I swallowed, "How did it end?"

"...She had to go away, her friend did too."

Akio and Sanae were clinging to each other.

This crowd of friends, they all looked like something important to them was about to be lost.

Nagisa smiled warmly, "Everyone is here, it's like the Dango Daikozaku. Okazaki-kun, you know who they are right?"

I nodded softly, "Y... yeah, the big dango family."

She began singing. Out of all the things she could do she was singing. It was her favorite song, about the big Dango family, and the mischief and love that was a part of it.

Eventually... she fell silent, and Sanae began to all but wail.

Tomoyo clung to me tightly, and I to her.

For all our different reactions, we all had one thing in common.

We shed tears for that girl.

And I started to sing on my own, it was my favorite song, about the big Dango family, and the mischief and love that was a part of it.

I sang until my chest hurt too much to allow me to do so...

-------------


	4. Chapter 4

Cloud: If you want to know more about Kotomi's book "The Dandelion Girl" I'd suggest reading it, it's actually a really good book. There's a huge spoiler for it in this chapter, so if you want to read it without getting spoiled then read it before you read this chapter.

Also, this is really getting out of hand, so much for "Only a few chapters for each after story." -_-'

**Clannad After Story: Tomoyo**

**Part 4**

"It's not looking very good right now."

The doctor was speaking, it was as if he had to break the news so many times already... that he didn't really feel the impact anymore. Even he looked regretful however. Sanae had finally stopped crying, but she wouldn't let go of her husband. Tomoyo was much the same with me, she must have gotten to know Nagisa well in the time she helped her establish the theatre club.

That still didn't explain why I was here though.

I had only just become her friend.

Though part of me felt that such a thing wouldn't matter to Nagisa, she hadn't complained about the Fujibayashi twins showing up, and I knew for a fact that she didn't know half of this crowd.

"For now, we should let her rest," continued the doctor. "Her condition right now is extremely fragile, and we don't know much about this particular illness."

He continued talking for at least a minute, but I wasn't really paying attention anymore. I knew that Nagisa was dying, and that there wasn't really anything we could do. Every single one of us knew that the doctor's false words of comfort were just that, false.

All we could do was stand there... and watch.

"Dammit." I gritted my teeth.

When had everything gone to hell like this?

Where did I screw up?

Was I supposed to help her, would it have even made a difference?

I hadn't even intended to ask her to be my friend, it just slipped out naturally, like we were supposed to know each other in the first place.

Tomoyo hadn't said a word.

I led her gently to Nagisa's bedside, and we both sat down in the two chairs that were put out. Sanae and Akio didn't move from the foot of her bed, Akio was just... staring at her.

I noticed vaguely that Sunohara was hugging Mei tightly.

We sat there.

I don't know how long. More chairs were brought, and Akio and Sanae joined us in taking a seat, along with several others.

Even more chairs were brought.

Minutes turned into hours quickly.

Tomoyo had long since fallen asleep on my shoulder.

I found myself dozing off as well, leaning on her soft hair.

All we could do waswait, and pray.

Visiting hours passed, but we weren't asked to move, almost as if it was being nailed home that Nagisa was dying.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up.

It was Akio, her father.

"She'll pull through," he said firmly.

"Wha... but the doctor said..."

"I don't give a shit what the doctor said, this is what I know. Do you know how much of a difference you and your friends made for her?"

"All I did was talk to her a few times."

He smirked, "Sometimes that's all it takes. The ground that this hospital was built on is a special place for this family. This isn't the first time this has happened. Sanae and I, we both sacrificed our dreams to take care of our daughter, and we don't regret it, not at all. That's what family is about sometimes, sacrifice."

I looked down at Tomoyo, still sleeping on my shoulder, mouth slightly open as she breathed.

And I remembered what she sacrificed for me.

"I refuse to believe that sacrafice will be in vain, because she's still alive now, and she always will be. She'll get married, and make friends, and have children."

"Hey... old man..."

"Yeah."

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it."

"If... when Nagisa recovers, can Tomoyo and I stay at the baking shop with you? It will only be for a year. It's just..."

"That's Tomoyo Sakagami isn't it? The tiger?"

"The Tiger?"

I'd never heard such a nickname before.

Akio continued, "I suppose you would be having trouble with that sort of thing," he said, sighing, "Don't underestimate me, I've still got some fight left. Those punks won't want to come within ten feet of the place."

I looked back to Nagisa, "But wouldn't that put your family in danger too?"

He chuckled, "Tch, they won't stand a chance. You'll owe me big time though."

"Um... don't worry, I'll help you run the shop and everything!"

He smirked, "Not that, you'll have to defeat me in a game of baseball."

"But... my shoulder is..."

A light breath cut off my sentence. "Okazaki-kun... I'm sure you can do it."

"Nagisa?"

She smiled lightly, "This isn't the first time I was told I would die," she said softly. "Also, when I was little. Dad saved me, he brought me to this field and screamed."

Akio's eyes widened, "You were awake?"

"And now that all my friends are here, I'm sure I'll be okay."

"Nagisa, you don't even know half of these people."

"I know you Okazaki-kun. I know that you're a kind person with a big heart." She rolled over and reached out to Tomoyo and I. She grasped our hands and brought them together, still smiling, "You'll take good care of her Okazaki-kun, just like you did with me on the first few days of school."

I nodded, "Yeah, I will."

"Good, then let my dad... let us help too."

"Yeah."

-------------

The next few days saw Nagisa's mother relieved beyond belief. She had been bed ridden in the process, but Nagisa didn't miss a lot of school, and would be starting again soon. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that nothing like this would happen to her again.

The morning we were to move I woke up on my own for once, and I thought I saw a light floating near the ceiling, when I shook my head to clear it, it was gone.

Tomoyo opened the door and smirked, "Wow, you actually woke up on your own for once, I'll have to give you a reward," she said, walking to me and kneeling at my side. She leaned down and pecked me on the cheek.

I sighed, "That was hardly a reward," I grumbled, reaching up and pinching her cheek.

She frowned, "Breakfast is ready and everythings already been moved to the guest room in their home, are you sure this is right? I kind of feel like we're imposing, especially after what happened at the hospital a few days ago."

"I don't know, it was just weird as all, I just went to the hospital, didn't even really think about it."

"Well, in any case, Sunohara left yesterday with Mei, said something about getting back to important things."

"Jerk didn't even say goodbye," I said with a yawn, rubbing my eyes.

When the door bell rang I brought a hand to my face, "What is it with people coming to see us in the morning?"

I stood to answer it and found the person I least expected on the other side. It was the girl from a few days ago, the one Sunohara had a crush on. "Kotomi, right?"

She looked left and right slowly, leaning back to get a better view of the apartment walk. She turned back to me and smiled softly, "Hello, Tomoya-kun."

How the hell did these people learn my name?!

"Riiight..."

"Ah, it's that girl," said Tomoyo softly, appearing behind me in her usual fashion for whenever I answered the door.

"And you must be Tomoyo-chan," said Kotomi softly, bowing to us.

Tomoyo bowed back with a smile, not even missing a beat, "Nice to meet you," she said softly, either completely ignoring or oblivious to the fact that the spacey girl who we didn't know just called us by our given names. "Youhei-kun left before me, my plane doesn't leave until seven in the morning tomorrow, and I wanted to meet his friend."

"You must have learned my name from Sunohara."

She nodded.

"And looked me up."

She shook her head.

"Wha..."

"Youhei-kun said you lived in an apartment, I've been walking around looking for it."

"And you didn't think to ask Sunohara for the address?" I asked, my eyebrow twitching.

"Hmm."She put a finger to her chin, "I don't know his cell phone number."

I banged my head on the door frame, causing Kotomi to jump back and Tomoyo to chuckle. "I... see..." I ground out.

"Well, come on in," said Tomoyo, graciously picking up where I should have left off but couldn't.

We sat, and Tomoyo served her some breakfast, splitting it into even portions for us. Now that I thought about it there was a lot of people coming to visit this place in the past few months. Tomoyo had yet to start rounding out, but I'm sure we would have to tell her parents very soon. Nagisa was a new family friend, Sunohara was still the same as usual, Kyou and Ryou had asked for our number after we departed the hospital.

These were all people I went to school with. Even the girl in front of me, though I had never met her before.

It made me think about that school. "Hey," I said softly to the girls, "Did you guys know that they're tearing down the old building at the high school and building new facilities?"

Tomoyo nodded, of course she would know, she was the council president.

Kotomi on the other hand, looked slightly shocked.

I continued, "It's just strange to think back... and remember my days at school. When I went there I hated it, but now that I know this I don't really want it to change."

"They're also renovating the library," said Kotomi softly. She looked sad, that must have been her favorite place.

"The sporting facilities aren't getting the treatment though," said Tomyo, sipping from her tea.

I let out a light sighed of relief, at least the field I first saw Tomoyo would remain intact, "I'm just not comfortable with it," I said honestly, picking at the food on my plate.

"Tomoya-kun." I looked back up when Kotomi called my name, "I have something I wanted to give you." She reached behind her and grabbed her purse. She set it on the table and opened it, pulling out a book.

She handed it to me over the table, and I took it gently.

It was a Japanese writing of a Sci-fi novel titled, "The Dandelion Girl".

_Day before yesterday I saw a rabbit, and yesterday a deer, and today, you._

I muttered the line softly to myself without even opening the book.

_"It's from a book."_

_"I don't really like reading."_

Kotomi smiled and stood up. Without me even realizing she had finished eating, "Thank you for the meal Tomoya-kun, Tomoyo-chan. I have to get going, as I still haven't packed."

She left with her quaint goodbye, while I sat there staring at the book.

"What is it?" asked Tomoyo.

"I don't know," I said softly, "I haven't read it yet."

I read the book that night. Tomoyo had fallen asleep, leaning on my shoulder as I flipped the pages. It was about a girl who traveled back in time and met the love of her life. The man was married already, and one day she stopped using the time machine to see him. After not seeing her for a while the man stumbled across a dress in his attic, the same dress that the girl had worn. The realization dawned on him that the girl was his wife, who, instead of going back to her own time, traveled to when he was twenty-one years of age and married him.

By the time I finished it was morning and I had bags under my eyes, but I didn't really care that much. I woke Tomoyo, gently nudging her arm. She grumbled a bit and her eyes opened. "Hey, our air ports not that big right? It's a hub air port, it only has a couple of terminals."

"Yeah," she said, yawning lightly, "What's up, are we eloping? Let's do it."

I chuckled when she shot my old joke back at me, "No, I just realized I have something really important to do."

-----------

"C'mon, let's go!"

"What's the hurry?!"

"Her plane leaves at seven!" I shouted, "That's in an hour and a half, if she's already through security we're screwed!"

This time I was the one dragging Tomoyo, dodging bespectacled onlookers as I made my way to the only security terminal in the air port. Thank God for small town hub air ports, we would never find her if this was a big city. I wasn't really used to running, so I was slightly out of breath, but I wasn't exactly unfit or unhealthy either. When we got to the terminal I searched the crowd for her... and saw her on the other side of the terminal. I ran up as close as I could to the small barrier, startling the security guard at the station, "Sir you can't..."

I didn't let him finish, "KOTOMI-CHAN!!"

Kotomi froze.

The security guard was yelling at me now, but I couldn't hear him.

"The day before yesterday!" I shouted.

Kotomi turned around slowly.

Even from this distance I could see her crying.

"I saw a rabbit!"

The guard was glaring at me, "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to..."

I interrupted him again, "And yesterday, a deer!"

"Sir, you're causing a ruckus."

"And today... YOU!!"

I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Kotomi. I... couldn't find you a birthday present!" I laughed, "I searched and searched for hours on end, and I couldn't find anything that I thought you'd like! I was so embarrased that I didn't come to your party! I'm sorry! I hope you can finish your parent's research!"

She was crying, but she was smiling as well.

-------------

"I knew her when I was little," I said softly as Tomoyo and I walked home together. "By the time I entered high school I had completely forgotten her. I always went into her house from the backyard garden that they had. It was an amazing place. As you heard, she invited me to her birthday party, but I was too embarrased from not being able to find her a present. I heard from Sunohara, her parents had died on her birthday. When she gave me that book, and I read it... it all came rushing back to me. I felt like the scum of the Earth." I chuckled harshly, "I had to catch her at the air port, because I might never see her again."

Tomoyo's grip tightened on my arm, "You will," she said softly, "I'm sure of it. She looked like she would definately come back. You try to put on this mask, but you're just a big softy," she said playfully.

I grinned, "Ouch, I'm the delinquent that was supposed to drop out remember. It's only the fault of a certain persistant council president that I graduated."

"Hey," she said with a frown, "That's going a bit far don't you think?"

"I made so many mistakes back then," I muttered to myself, "I ignored my father, I forgot about one of my best friends, I didn't help Nagisa, and... and I broke up with you too."

She smiled, "That was pretty stupid, but..." She leaned on my shoulder, closing her eyes and letting me walk for the both of us, "We're here now aren't we? Nagisa is alive, and our friend. Kotomi knows you remembered her, your father was proud of you in the end, and as for me?" She stood on her tip toes and took my lips.

When she pulled back I frowned, "What are you doing, outside like this?"

She shrugged, "I just felt like it, let's head home, I know you stayed up all night."

"That's not my fault."

She chuckled, "Yes it is."

"Tch, whatever."


End file.
